Afew weeks ago, we took a look at generative AI’s potential to change teaching and learning on college campuses around the country. This week, I spoke with experts and educators in K-12 to see what they think about these new tools.

Jeremy Roschelle, an executive director at education nonprofit Digital Promise and the lead researcher on a new report on the topic developed under contract with the Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology, recommends that schools and educators spend the upcoming school year in a phase of cautious exploration of generative AI.*

Roschelle said he wants to see school leaders and educators experiment in ways that don’t carry big risks for students, such as changing a few lesson plans. “I personally would advise school districts not to rush into buying a particular product, but really treat this year as a chance to educate yourself,” he said.

It’s a sentiment echoed by Richard Culatta, CEO of ISTE, which recently published a guide on AI in collaboration with AASA, the School Superintendents Association. What schools need to do, he said, is provide teachers with a better understanding of what AI is and share examples of how to use it.

“Don’t try to make a policy. Don’t try to make a decision. Don’t try to rewrite or curb your curriculum,” he said. “Just dedicate the time to exploring what it can do, what it can’t do.”

Superintendent Louis Steigerwald said that’s exactly the plan in his district, Norway-Vulcan Area Schools in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. While he’s heard from teachers who’d prefer to simply ignore AI, he doesn’t think that’s realistic. Instead, he’s encouraging teachers to use the summer to explore AI, in part by selecting an AI tool of their choice and thinking about how it could be incorporated into the classroom this fall.

Read the full article about school districts using AI by Javeria Salman at The Hechinger Report.